Best Greek Restaurant St. Louis 2005 - Momos

Just when this corner-eatery storefront off the beaten path of Delmar Boulevard looked like it was consigned to life as a cursed restaurant space, along came Momos. Just when the fuss over fusion-tapas was reaching a fever pitch -- and at the same time, feeling woefully played out at dying-to-be-trendy restaurants all across St. Louis -- along came Momos. Opened this past winter by BARcelona alumni Mark Lucas, Mike Johnson and Maziar Nooran (along with former Tangerine bar guru Matt McMullin), Momos and its Greek-chic tapas menu respect the integrity of the motherland's foods but insist on taking the piss out of them at the same time. The results: ouzo-cured salmon gravlax, giant lima bean salad, eggplant fries the size of your hand, meatballs spiked with rosemary and orange...and a baked dessert of phyllo dough wrapped around melted milk chocolate worthy of sacrificing at the feet of Zeus. The sangria-style mead flows, the belly dancers shake their thangs, the food comes forth from the kitchen in waves, and life is very, very good.